Enthraille: The Orphan's Story
by Dathari
Summary: AU, shounen ai. Sora has lived in Destira all his life, but when a mysterious death occurs, he has to assemble a ragtag group of heroes, along with one crazy Enthraille, to find out why.
1. Chapter One

Dai: I'm finally posting TOS! (trumpet fanfare) You have no idea how long I have worked on this. It's a bit like a huge crap I've been trying to let go of for the past year or so. And I'm not even done yet. Gah. Reviews will be appreciated. Flames will be tolerated. Constructive criticism will be worshipped.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, as much as I wish I did (that 'n' Chrono Cross). Why was Zidane not in KH? _Why?_

Enthraille: The Orphan's Story

Chapter One

The sea was calming to the boy as he lay there on the curiously shaped tree, listening to the waves against the beach surrounding his hometown of Destira. This was a unique quality of his, to be so tuned in to the earth and sea. Sometimes it seemed like he could feel the way the earth did, if it was in pain or rejoicing.

Being on the islet that was separated from the rest of the beach, he was granted a pleasant sense of isolation. The air was filled with the voices of those playing on the beach, but they seemed strangely disconnected from him. He was protected from the outside world, unless someone happened to climb the ladder, but he would see them long before they saw him. Or they could come across the walkway to him, in which case he would hear their feet on the—

"SORA!"

With a scream, Sora leapt up, lost his balance, and fell forward into the ocean. He surfaced, still shaken, and his eyes narrowed at the sound of feminine laughter coming from the islet above him. Having grudgingly mounted the ladder, he pulled himself up onto the sand and growled deep in his throat, pouting at the redhead who had killed his dignity. "Why'd you have to go and do that?" he asked her, climbing up on the tree again.

"Too priceless a moment," she replied simply, regaining control over her mirth. "And because you scream like a girl, Sora."

"Not funny!" Sora told her sharply as he squeezed the water out of his deep brown hair.

"Aw, Sora, I thought you liked the water?" she said to him, leaning forward to ruffle the wet strands. She smiled evilly. "Besides, you're hot when you're—"

Sora didn't allow her to finish that sentence, preferring to seize her by the wrist and flip her into the water. She emerged, sputtering and furious, to see his broad smile. "You scream like a boy, Kairi."

Kairi's lilac eyes narrowed. "That's a lie and you know it."

"Maybe," Sora conceded.

With a sigh, most likely due to the fact that she had realized she couldn't get anywhere with him on this note, Kairi sat down next to the brown-haired boy on the tree. "You haven't been up here for a while," she remarked after a silence. "Something on your mind?"

Sora hesitated. "I guess I just need to watch the sea awhile," he replied. "It's so hectic during the school year, and I never get a chance."

"The sea," Kairi repeated. "The sea, the sea, the sea. Is that all you ever think about?"

A strange emotion appeared in his eyes then, and he suddenly clasped her close, his lips brushing hers in the most innocent of kisses. "No," he replied in a quiet tone, his deep eyes never leaving hers. A smile that Kairi had never seen before appeared on his face when he saw her blush cherry red. All too soon, the closeness was gone, and Sora was lying on his back on the tree, staring out at the sea again.

"I wonder," he murmured distantly. "I wonder what it's like out there. I wonder who I'd meet if I left here…"

Kairi was silent for a moment as she watched the sea with him. "We could leave," she said finally. "The harbor is only a little ways away. We could get one of the boats, or even build one ourselves. We could go on out there together, just the two of us."

"Mmmm…" Sora mumbled, closing his eyes.

"There are all kinds of places we could visit," Kairi continued, by now only half-aware of what she was saying. "And maybe…maybe we could find out where you come from." She looked at him again. Sora's past was a catastrophic mystery, according to the other adults on the island. He had shown up one day, a boy of three or four, with a woman known only as Nanny. They'd lived together in Destira for ten years, although they didn't seem particularly close. That was why Sora was sometimes jealous of Kairi's beautiful mother and devoted father. "We could find out who your parents are," she added quietly.

This last comment was returned with a soft snore.

"Sora!" she groaned, leaning forward to smack him in the forehead, as always. But something stopped her as she realized she was close to those eyes, those lips again. It wasn't hard to recall the feeling of being so close to him, of having that sudden spurt of electricity that was his lips against hers. She dared to draw closer, feeling his breath against her skin.

"Stop right there!"

Looking up with a start, Kairi recognized the bulging figure of Nanny as the middle-aged woman approached swiftly by way of the walkway. It suddenly dawned on her that she was wet, Sora was wet, and they were in very close proximity to one another. Anyone could take that the wrong way. "U-um, wait a sec!" she said quickly, springing to her feet. "It's not what it looks like!"

Sora sat up dazedly. "Who's screaming?" he asked thickly.

"I leave you alone for two seconds, and this is what happens!" Nanny raged, seizing Sora by the ear and towing him back toward the house. Several pained whimpers escaped the boy who was struggling to keep up with his caretaker's long strides, and he glanced back at Kairi apologetically.

"Sorry—something's come up," he explained laconically. "See you later."

"Bye," Kairi managed faintly, barely heard over the sound of Nanny's enraged lecture.

l…l

The door opened with a musical accompaniment at the courtesy of Nanny as she continued her rant about the dangers of unsafe sex. Sora was only half-listening to this, being more focused on the painful grip on his ear. "But if you want to go out and get that girl pregnant, you'd better think twice if I'm going to pay for it!" she finished, as she always did, and released his ear. Rather than stay to try to explain that they weren't doing anything and no he didn't know why Kairi was bent over him like that, Sora slipped upstairs in the blink of an eye.

He closed the door and leaned against it, sighing with relief. At least Nanny wasn't going to take away his toys again. Lately he'd been hiding them in his closet and barricading the door to make it less convenient for her, although it never seemed to stop her. Only one thing remained outside the closet door—the worn, slightly nicked wooden sword that it seemed like he had always had with him.

"Something from your parents," Nanny had said to him when he asked her about it three years ago. "Your father made it for you right after you were born. He hoped he could teach you to fight with it." She snorted, shaking her head as she stirred the stew for that afternoon. "Silliness. You'll probably never meet something you have to fight unless you do something stupid like run off into the woods." She shot him a sharp look then, since he'd run off just the other day.

The eleven-year-old had seized upon a question he'd asked several other times, although Nanny had always found a way out of it. "What happened to my parents?"

"I told you. They died."

"I know that, but…" Sora hesitated. "How? Who did it?"

Nanny had glared at him with her piercing black eyes. "Don't ask me that question, Sora. I'll explain when you're older, but not before."

"No, I want to know! Tell me!" Sora approached her, waving the sword threateningly. He didn't know how to use it, but he figured he could loosen her tongue with the promise of being whacked.

She'd studied him for a moment, then emitted a narrow, challenging laugh. "And the cub grows teeth," she murmured. "You want to have a go, do you, boy?" she asked him, wiping her hands on her apron and taking the large wooden spoon out of the pot. "Come on."

Sora had hesitated then, surprised by her sudden challenge. "But—!"

"Not scared already, are you?"

Blue eyes narrowing, he yelled and struck out blindly with the sword. Nanny caught the blow with the spoon, and Sora felt something hot hit his cheeks as a few droplets of stew flew from the spoon. He struggled to maneuver in the way he'd seen on television and in the styles of the other boys in Destira, but Nanny seemed almost to predict what he was doing before he did it. Within a few moments, the spoon struck him just above his left hip. "And that's why you'd die," Nanny told him in a low voice. "You don't guard on your left, and your offense is shabby."

She straightened, wiping off the spoon and sticking it back in the pot. "Go upstairs and wash, Sora. You have stew all over you."

There was a silence, broken only by the soft sound of her stirring. "Nanny—"

"We're having lunch in just a few moments, so hurry." She glanced at him when he tried to speak again, a twinkle of amusement in her eye. "And perhaps we can schedule a rematch afterward."

And so his lessons had begun.

Sora smiled at the worn piece of wood in his hands, remembering the spoon-shaped bruises that Nanny had decorated him with for the first few months. Now, three years after that encounter in the kitchen, he was steadily improving. He slipped the sword back into its place under the dresser and went downstairs to see if Nanny had calmed down at all.

l…l

Four days passed with no words exchanged between Sora and Kairi. This was, no doubt, Nanny's doing, as she accompanied Sora everywhere he went when he wasn't at the house. Sora found this incredibly embarrassing, but none of the other boys dared comment. Several of them had fallen victim to her spoon as punishment for stealing fruit from the trees in Sora's backyard.

Maybe it was just Sora's imagination, but it seemed more like Kairi just wasn't around. Under Nanny's watchful eye, he'd braved the other boys' sniggers and slipped into Kairi's favorite haunt—a clothing shop at the mall. She wasn't there, though, and the shopkeeper hadn't seen her for several days.

Nanny was gracious enough to let up on the fifth day and relinquished Sora to his usual daily activities. He searched the island swiftly, becoming thoroughly frustrated when it seemed like he was just missing her at every turn. Finally, feeling exhausted, he curled up on the paopu tree again and slipped into a light slumber.

"Sora?"

The light voice came from behind him. Sora pulled himself from the depths of sleep and looked groggily at the individual responsible. "Kairi," he managed thickly, shaking his head to pull himself further into reality. "Where've you been? I was looking all over for you."

"I was just around," she replied. "Come on. I have a surprise for you." She seized him by the wrist, implying sharply that she wasn't taking no for an answer, and the two of them rushed down the beach toward a brown mass just visible on the shore. As they drew closer, Sora could see that it was a somewhat ragged, but surprisingly well-made raft.

"You make boats?" he asked her, staring in awe at the tall mast and sail just waiting to be drawn along the sea.

Kairi shrugged. "My uncle knows a little about it," she replied. "I took some tips and hints from him." She grinned, stepping aboard. "Well? What do you think?"

Sora shook his head, at a loss for words. "It's great," he replied finally. "It looks like it'll really sail."

"Of course it's going to sail. That's why I made it."

"But…what's it for?"

The redhead stared at him, then rested her head in her hands with a groan. "It's so we can go out in the world, like you were talking about," she explained in exasperation. "Don't you think it'd be fun? Both of us just out there on the sea, finding out what it is that makes this planet tick." She smiled. "And I'm calling it Excalibur."

Sora blinked uncomprehendingly. "Huh?"

"You can't remember anything, can you? When you were little, you used to get a big kick out of naming stuff." Kairi smirked evilly. "You named your fish, your hamster, your roller blades—and you know what you named them all? Excalibur."

A deep blush ignited on Sora's cheeks, and he muttered something intelligible. "I was eight years old," he reminded her, glaring as she struggled to control her laughter. "I'd call it something different now."

"Like?" Kairi prompted.

"Like…like Skyhigh—Blowhole—I don't know," Sora groaned, throwing his hands up.

"Blowhole? Are you serious?"

Sora's hands sifted through the air in an attempt to grasp the intangible. "All right, um—Highwind. You know what? Let's call it Highwind."

"I'm sticking with Excalibur. It's my raft." Kairi stuck her tongue out at him.

"It's my name!" he shot back. He paused, a sly look developing on his face. "You want to race for it?"

"No."

"But—!"

"I'm physically inept, Sora," Kairi reminded him. "Here. Prepare yourself." She stuck her fist out and waited. Sora groaned, but complied anyway.

"Rock, paper, scissors." Pause. "Rock, paper, scissors."

"Paper covers rock," Kairi told him, smirking victoriously. "We're calling it Excalibur."

Casting a sidelong glance at Sora, who had reverted to groaning some more, she leaned up against the mast and began to fiddle with something he couldn't see.

This behavior captured Sora's attention at once, and he stepped closer, trying to peer through her fingers. She glanced at him, then smiled knowingly and moved so that he couldn't see her hands. "C'mon, Kairi! Let me see!" Sora broke into a run, ending up chasing her in circles around the mast. When they were opposite of the water again he seized her, sending the two of them toppling over into the sand.

Kairi got over her laughing fit long enough to loop the mystery item around Sora's neck. "They're thalassa shells," she explained when he inspected them curiously. "They're a sign of good luck for sailors."

"We'll need it," Sora said wryly. "I've never sailed before. I'll probably get us stuck out on a reef somewhere."

"You will not!" Kairi told him, smacking him playfully in the forehead. She smiled at him, her eyes softening as his face drew closer to hers. "I trust you," she whispered, feeling his breath mingle with hers again.

"Ahem."

Both of them looked up sharply, blushing as they realized they hadn't gone unnoticed. Nanny's hands were on her hips, her foot tapping the ground impatiently. "And I'm supposed to believe this is just an accident or something. Is that it?"

Sora clambered to his feet quickly, helping Kairi up after him. "I'm sorry, Nanny, w-we were just…talking about thalassa shells, and then…uh…"

"Thalassa shells?" Nanny shook her head. "There's nothing interesting about thalassa shells. Get yourself a paopu fruit. Just do it later. Sora?" She gestured meaningfully in the general direction of their house.

Sora sighed. "See you tomorrow, Kairi."

"Yeah. Tomorrow." Kairi seized his arm, her lips brushing against his ear quickly as she spoke in a soft voice. "Be here at three o'clock in the morning. The Excalibur sails tomorrow."

l…l

Sora thought about that as he lay awake in bed that night. Tomorrow they left everything he had ever known. It seemed far-fetched—crazy, even. They'd be in big trouble if the law enforcement caught them. But, in that case, they'd have to go someplace that the law couldn't touch. Some magical fantasy parallel to the isolated town they lived in.

"You in bed yet, Sora?" came a call from the bathroom across the hall.

"Yes, Nanny." Sora slid deeper under the covers so she couldn't see the outfit he was wearing if she chose to come in.

"Good. See you in the morning."

"Yeah," Sora replied, feeling guilt pool in his stomach. "Good night."

Nanny closed the door to his room and padded down to her room at the end of the hall. Sora heard the light click off and waited in the darkness with only the light from the digital clock as comfort. He knew very well that he was afraid of the darkness, if only because it made him recall grisly photos from horrendous murder scenes he'd seen on television. But there was another reason—a deeper reason that he couldn't explain.

Seven minutes, he thought to himself. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. But Nanny was by no means average, so for twenty minutes Sora stared at the clock and waited. Finally, he stood and switched on the lamp on his desk, glancing around the room swiftly to make absolute sure that a killer wasn't crouched to spring.

Seeing neither the killer nor that unspoken thing that scared him even more, he started shuffling through the drawers, seizing clothing he figured he would eventually wear. Jeans, gloves, that pair of blue shoes he never really wore—just about everything he could get his hands on went into the backpack he'd found under the bed. He got to his feet and, after first pushing away the box in front of it, got to the closet. Having thrown in a few older things, he spotted the outfit Nanny had gotten him a few years ago, figuring he would fill out soon enough. Sora hadn't, though—he was still fairly skinny—but the yellow shirt and black pants with the blue whatchamacallits would probably come in handy sometime.

He started away from the closet with the outfit in tow, but he suddenly felt a pang of doubt as he looked at the overstuffed pack. Moving carefully, lest it exploded, he pulled out several things that he could go without. The outfit went into the bag along with the wooden sword and a few choice toys, and Sora was ready to go.

Looking around at the room that had been his for fourteen years, though, Sora was met with a part of himself that honestly didn't want to leave Destira, no matter what was out there. He shook himself briefly and glanced at the clock. It was only twelve o'clock—a three-hour wait. Sighing, Sora lay back in bed to wait until two forty. That would give him enough time to walk to the raft without having to hurry. He glanced out at the cloudy sky, wondering vaguely if a storm was coming.

l…l

Two forty came quickly, and Sora went down the stairs to leave. Nanny was sitting at the breakfast table with the lights on, but for some reason, Sora didn't worry about this.

He continued out of the house, seeing the sunshine beating down on the beach. It occurred to him that he was supposed to have left at night, and perhaps Excalibur was already gone. That fact vanished from his mind as he ran toward the raft where Kairi was waving to him, her face bright with anticipation. But his feet couldn't bring him any closer to the raft, regardless of how hard he tried.

As he struggled, he began increasingly aware of the darkening sky. Kairi shot him an impatient look, but she disappeared behind that sinister presence that he had always feared. There was a rasping sound that seemed to come from the world itself as the strange, dark being stretched out a hand toward him, and—

Sora jerked awake, his eyes meeting darkness as he sat up in bed. The digital clock read two thirty-three, so he still had time to walk to the beach. He seized the pack off the floor, slinging it over his back, and tiptoed past Nanny's room. His yellow shoes were waiting for him at the door, and it was after slipping them on that he rushed outside into the drizzle that was falling over Destira.

The town fell behind him as he reached the shore where the palm trees curved slightly while their leaves shivered and rippled in the wind. The same was true of the leaves atop the paopu tree. Sora noticed the islet and recalled countless days spent there even before he met Kairi. He also recalled Nanny's words about the paopu fruit—the legend said that it caused two people's destinies to intertwine. If he never came back to Destira, he at least wanted one of these to share with someone. Kairi, maybe.

Despite the raging wind that increased steadily in ferocity, he mounted the walkway and balanced on the paopu tree to reach the fruits that hung so close. They seemed only inches away, as though his hand would close around one at any moment, but his fingers couldn't seem to reach them. His foot slipped along the wet trunk and he seized the tree impulsively, barely managing to keep from falling. Deep brown hair whipped about his face in damp tendrils as the wind began to howl around him, and his hand closed around the tough fruit.

The paopu flew into his pack as quickly as possible and he was on the beach again, running toward the raft. It was probably three o'clock already, but he couldn't tell if Kairi was already out there. But she might have decided not to come due to the storm, he rationalized. Still, he spent several minutes standing by the raft and waiting.

Destira was dark and cold as Sora walked through the rain, finding shelter beneath an overhanging roof every so often. It seemed like forever before he got to Kairi's house and climbed up the tree that stood by the hall window.

"Kairi?" he called into the darkness that muffled the rain, stepping down onto the carpet. He paused there, pulling off his shoes and sticking them in a corner. It probably wouldn't matter—he was drenched—but still, he had to observe common courtesy.

He padded down the hallway until he reached Kairi's room, soundlessly opening the door. Kairi was lying on her bed, fully dressed, with no lights on in the room. Nonetheless, she was visible due to a soft glow that seemed to come from the white symbol apparent on her forehead. "Kairi!" Sora exclaimed, rushing toward her. The symbol faded, and with it the light, so that Sora tripped in the darkness and hit his head on her foot. He was vaguely aware of a strange rushing noise, and then someone standing in a corner of the room lit a candle.

"Another one," came a quiet voice from the corner. "He's still out there."

Sora stumbled to his feet, seeing the light that illuminated striking blonde hair and deep blue eyes. "Who are you?" he demanded of the caped stranger, whipping out the wooden sword. "What did you do to her?"

The stranger shook his head, and Sora noticed for the first time that one dark wing was curled on his shoulder. "I didn't do anything, but that doesn't change much. I'm only here because I felt that he'd gotten another one."

"Who?"

"The wise man—the wizard." The stranger crossed to Kairi's side, placing a hand on her forehead where the symbol had been. "That's his sign. It appears on every one of his victims."

"Victims?" A dark fear descended on Sora. "Wh-what's gonna happen to her?"

"Nothing more, now." Removing his hand, the caped man started to leave the room. "I have to find him. I'll keep him from doing this anymore."

"What…? Then she's…?" Sora shook his head violently. "No! Kai—Kairi can't just _die_, that…that's…"

"She's not dead. It's a coma that is very much like it, but she's not quite dead yet." The blond man turned an interested gaze on Sora. "You might be able to save her if you can find the wise man in time. If not, he'll use what he's taken for less noble means."

Sora frowned. "But what has he—?"

The rushing noise sounded again and the candle blew out, smoke curling about the resulting darkness. "Find the Enthrailles," the stranger whispered before silence descended.

A sudden feeling of terrible loneliness settled over Sora as he stood in the room with Kairi's motionless body. "I'll save you," he whispered to her. He paused, his hand falling to the thalassa shells he was still wearing, and he gently placed them around her neck. "I promise you won't die like this."

That said, he donned his shoes again and returned to the room to take Kairi up in his arms. Moments passed, during which he realized he must have walked to the raft, because suddenly it was in front of him. The storm seemed to be calming finally, so, laying Kairi on the raft and tethering her to the mast, he pushed off the shore and out to sea.

l…l

Dai: It's AU, so it's not what you think. It's about to spiral pretty drastically into a wildly alternative storyline.

Serge: Uh…why is Sora with Kairi in this one?

Dai: (blinks) He is? (looks up) Oh. He is. Funny how that is.

Serge: Is it just me or are you being mysterious again?

Dai: Mysterious? Why would I need to be mysterious?

Serge: …That's it. I'm gonna go read it ahead of time. (stalks away)

Dai: But you _can't_! I know you, and you'll spill everything to the readers! (gives chase)


	2. Chapter Two

Dai: Well. That first chapter died like a fish out of water.

Serge: Don't start.

Dai: Ah, well. Hopefully this one will make things take off. I didn't create the Continent for my own amusement. Entirely.

Serge: Right. Whatever. Can I give away the plot yet?

Dai: Only if you then let me tie you to a chair and rape you senseless. (evil leer)

Serge: …your rape scenes are scary things…

Disclaimer: No own, no sue.

Enthraille: The Orphan's Story

Chapter Two

"Boy."

Sora shifted slightly, yawning. "Hang on, Nanny, I'll be up in a moment," he managed in a voice still heavy with sleep.

Someone poked him in the head with a sharp stick.

This roused him. "Hey, what was that for?" he demanded, frowning up at the offender.

He hesitated when he saw the unnaturally silver hair that swirled around the girl's shoulders, and her aquamarine eyes pierced him with a determination not unlike Nanny's. "Boy, what are you doing here?" she asked him sharply. "Other races aren't allowed in Aidran. You should know that."

"Aidran?" Sora considered that. "Where's that?"

"Southeast of Middel," the girl replied. "Everyone knows that. Unless you're not from around here, in which case you must be a spy." She pointed the stick—which was actually a pike—at him threateningly.

This could turn nasty very quickly, and Sora realized that. "No no no, I'm not!" he said quickly, getting to his feet to keep from getting poked again. "I'm from Destira. I'm trying to find the Enthrailles about a wizard."

But this only made the girl's eyes widen, and she made a swift gesture toward the trees. On cue, several others approached wearing garb of the same bluish tone as the strange girl. Their silver hair shone like mirrors in the forested area in which Sora found himself. He backed away and nearly tripped over the beached Excalibur, to which Kairi was still tethered. A faint memory of stopping, walking, and then falling asleep on the ground floated back to him then. How long had they been at sea? It seemed like years, but it could only have been days or weeks.

"Take him to the palace," the girl said importantly to the others, who were apparently her subordinates.

"But—wait—Kairi!" Sora reached in vain for her even as the strangers seized him and started away. Behind him, the silver-haired girl stopped, bending beside the redhead briefly. She nodded to a silver-haired man and followed the rest as the man slung Kairi over his shoulder.

l…l

_The woman smiled happily, bouncing the baby on her knee as she looked at her husband. "Isn't he cute?" she asked, deep brown curls sliding in a waterfall over her shoulder as she leaned over to smile at the infant._

_Her husband returned the smile. "Yes, yes, he is. We've discussed this." He started toward the baby, running a hand through the soft hair on his son's delicate head, but looked up sharply, seeing something dark and ominous through the window. "It's here," he whispered._

_His wife looked up at him, terror in her eyes, but she kept her movements natural. "She said to go out the back way," she replied in a low voice. "We can probably make it to the glade."_

"_We can hope. Take the baby and go on—I'll follow you."_

_Her wide green eyes betrayed her indecision, but she choked back a reply and rushed away, her feet making no sound on the stone floor. Squaring his shoulders, the brown-haired man stood in front of the door, waiting. He saw it come close, eyes shimmering in the darkness of the evening, and felt the terrible fear leap up in his heart. But he couldn't follow her now. It was too late—they would see him and find her and their son. Blue eyes defiant, he glared at the creatures, forcing his feet to stay rooted to the floor even though he wanted so desperately to run._

_An unearthly sound passed through the house, followed abruptly by an anguished scream that bespoke terrible suffering as the world faded to black._

The boy sat up abruptly, the regal coverlet flying off him. His breath came in gasps as his slightly damp hair fell over his eyes. He managed to regain control over his breathing just as the door opened and a tiny man scurried in.

"Your Highness!" the man exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, his silver hair messy and his tiny spectacles askew. "One of the servants said you were thrashing in bed again. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Dmitri," the prince replied, relaxing as he took in the familiar surroundings that were his masterfully designed bedroom. "Another nightmare, that's all." He hesitated. Why were these dreams constantly bothering him? He didn't know these people, and he didn't even particularly care how things turned out for them. They looked like simple humans, even though something about their faces made him think different of them. But it wasn't like he cared, anyway—he was an Enthraille, and the Enthrailles didn't mix with the other races.

Dmitri scurried about, seeming to be enjoying himself immensely. "I'm actually glad you've awakened, Prince Riku. There's royal business to take care of!"

Riku rolled his eyes. His servant delighted over the idea of business in any way, shape, or form. "I worked overtime yesterday," he groaned. "I was hoping you'd give me a break today."

"The position of king requires double the amount of work—you're lucky I'm playing Regent for you in that department." Dmitri drew out a list. "Not much to begin the day with, but you have to see the Duke about that murder charge." He winced. "Very nasty sight over at the manor the other day."

"I'm going to have him hanged," Riku growled. "You don't massacre children and get away with it. Not in Serre." He shook his head. "Imagine if it were the baby he'd killed."

Dmitri rested his quill against his cheek, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "The baby, your Highness?"

Shock appeared in the deep aquamarine eyes as Riku realized he'd just said that out loud. But why was he worried about a baby that existed only in his dreams? "Never mind, Dmitri. What's after that?"

There was a flicker of concern across Dmitri's features, but he pressed on down the list. "Captain Kikyo found a human boy speaking gibberish by the river just this morning. Oh, but that's taken care of—we'll have him questioned thoroughly as to his motives."

"A human? In Aidran?"

"Apparently so, your Highness." Dmitri frowned, perusing the list more closely. "He had a dead girl with him. At least, she seems dead by all accounts, but the physicians said there were still some very slight signs that's she's still…" The tiny man's voice died away, his eyes widening and locking with those of the prince. "You don't think…?"

l…l

Sora chaffed his arms, shivering in the damp as the steel door slid shut with a shuddering clank. The strange silver-haired people had taken his pack and he had reason to believe they were confiscating Excalibur, too. So he had been locked up alone in a cold, damp cell without anyone to talk to. Not even Kairi.

It seemed terribly ironic. He'd come out here searching for some fantastic, magical place that would relieve him of the boundaries of everyday life. He'd found the magic—complete with none of the technological comforts of home—but he was instantly fettered to a set of boundaries again.

Glancing up suddenly, he noticed that almost all of the torches in the room were unlighted, and a guard was advancing on the last one. "Excuse me, sir?" he said to the soldier in a panicked voice. "Could you—could you please not put out that torch?"

The guard blinked at him, nodding vaguely and extinguishing the torch before Sora could say another word. Metal clanked against the stone as the soldier left with his own torch as the only fading light. Sora leaned against the wall and sighed. "Thank you," he managed softly.

Clasping his arms about him, the boy sank to the stone floor, trying not to think about the sinister figure that his imagination had slipped into his surroundings. He seemed to see a cloaked figure crouched by the window, barely illuminated by a faint light from a crack in the stone.

It's probably just a bucket with a cloth on it, he told himself, absentmindedly feeling along the wall for a light switch. There wasn't one, though, and he was left to wonder if that really was just a bucket. But it was.

It had to be.

In the hope of reassuring himself, Sora rose and crossed the floor to it, one hand raised to move the cloth. Maybe it was just his shift in position, but it seemed like the cloaked figure was staring at him now out of eyes shrouded in darkness. Sora let out a small whimper and shrank back against the hard bed. "It's too dark," he said to the surrounding emptiness. "Someone help! Someone turn on a light…!"

An eternity passed while he stayed on the bed, watching what he believed to be a cloaked figure for signs of life. The unexplainable fear escalated to a paralyzing terror that led him to slow down his breathing, lest it disturbed the stranger and made him attack.

The metallic clanking deterred him from this task, though. Light spilled into the room from the torches the guards were carrying, revealing the stranger to be no more than a ruffled blanket over a stone block. "You're getting off easy," one guard explained. "The prince wants to see you."

They escorted him up through the dark halls and into the graceful architecture of the palace he'd seen when they brought him to the city. Two huge doors, elegantly encrusted with gold and green-tinted sapphire, opened to allow them into the throne room.

"But your Highness, this is an outrage!" a tall, imposing man roared, waving his fist in the air even as the soldiers dragged him away. "You can't possibly have enough evidence to convict me of—!"

"I believe we have more than enough evidence, your Lordship," the prince replied coldly from his throne. "It's a shame I won't be able to see you hang."

Sora swallowed hard as the man disappeared into the dungeon and the prince turned piercing aquamarine eyes on him expectantly. Like the other inhabitants of Aidran, the prince had long silver hair that gleamed slightly in the light from the chandelier. He was wearing a blue cloak, and when he moved it shimmered exactly like water in the evening.

The piercing eyes left Sora, turning instead on the group of attendants at the left. "The girl," the silver-haired prince said abruptly, snapping his fingers. A familiar figure was borne forward on a flat litter carried by four blue-clad servants.

"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed, aching to go to her even though he knew the guards would stop him if he tried.

"The physicians say she is dead and yet alive," the prince told him. "Explain what happened to her."

With a fervent glance at Kairi, Sora briefly outlined the events of the night he left Destira. "He told me to find a wizard and the Enthrailles, and then he was gone. So I brought her here," he finished finally.

The prince nodded, his eyes distant. He turned to confer with the tiny man standing on his right, making Sora feel strangely uncomfortable as he waited for a response.

"—It's very clear that—"

"—No, no, it couldn't be—"

"—But don't you recognize—?"

"—Of course I recognize—"

The argument ended with an abrupt close and the prince turned to Sora. "You, boy—your name is…?"

"Sora."

"Prince Riku of Serre." The prince nodded to him formally. "The Regent and I have come to a decision. You are to stay here in Aidran for one day, as it's too late in the day to attempt to leave now, and then you must return to Destira or Middel. The girl will remain here at the palace."

Sora's heart sank. "But Ri—I mean, your Highness, I can't leave her here! I have to find the wizard and those people—the Enth—"

"Serre is the country of the Enthrailles, and this is its capital city," Riku told him. "The stranger was wise to refer you to us—our physicians are the finest found anywhere. You won't need to worry about Kairi. We'll return her to you once we've finished the healing process."

At this, the Regent looked infuriated. "The prince will take a thirty minute recess," he stated quickly before beckoning to Riku and darting toward a side door.

The throne room erupted into chatter and movement as the various servants began to mingle. Sora found himself attacked by the demon of curiosity and surreptitiously slipped away from the distracted guards. Pressing himself up against the side door, which was partially concealed behind a gold curtain, he could pick up the only slightly hushed voices of the prince and Regent.

"What are you doing?" the Regent demanded. "You're feeding the boy tricks and lies! We can't possibly heal her at this stage!"

"Dmitri, calm down." Riku's voice was firm. "I didn't lie about anything. We're going to heal her."

"But it's _gone_! Any treatment that would bring her back to even a _semblance_ of her original self would take decades!" Dmitri sighed. "Not to mention that we don't have much time, and unless we can get an experienced mage who can hold on to her for long enough, all we can do is make her comfortable."

Sora bit his lip, glancing back at Kairi's motionless form. So there wasn't anything he could do—the Enthrailles were no help at all. Feeling distress descend upon him, he rushed past the bewildered guards and deep into the palace, not really caring where he was going or whether there were consequences. He failed to catch the last of the conversation between the prince and Regent.

"Listen. Keep the boy in the palace for just a little while longer. I have an idea."

Dmitri stared at the silver-haired boy. "What in Sephiroth's name are you planning now?"

l…l

For a long time, Sora curled up in the corner, his body wracked with sobs. There was a brief moment during which he felt something cold along his back, but he was too preoccupied with his grief to think about it. Kairi, he kept thinking. The girl who had been by his side since he was ten—the girl he had hoped to share a paopu with. She was about to die.

The tears eventually gave way to quiet sniffles, and finally to silence. Feeling strangely hollow inside, Sora stood, wavering slightly before starting down the hall. He had to get out of here and back to Nanny, back to a world where he didn't have to abandon people to fate.

His foot slid forward on something and he flew into the air, landing uncomfortably on his rear. Frowning, he sat up and saw the silken material he'd slipped on, and he crawled up to examine it. "Why are there clothes…?" he murmured, picking up the blue cloak and watching it shimmer like water under his fingertips.

"Ah, there you are," Dmitri greeted him, having approached from the left hallway. "We were a bit worried—some of the Enthraille guards can be a bit merciless—and you heard what the prince said. I'm sorry, but there's really nothing else we can do."

Sora held up the cloak. "Wasn't he wearing th—?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. That happens all the time," Dmitri explained, chuckling lightly. "I'm sure you can imagine." He hesitated just then and stared at the cloak, his expression changing first to one of realization, then one of doubt, and finally, one of reluctant trust.

The brown-haired boy, on the other hand, was thoroughly confused by the tiny man's earlier statement. "What do you mean?"

This seemed to awaken Dmitri from his state of thought, and he started briskly down the hall. "Come along, now. I had a room at our best hotel reserved for you. If you've come all the way from Destira, you must have had it rough." The tiny man chuckled again. "It's sort of a fantasy out here, though. Imagine, boxes with people in them, lights that burn without fire—pure foolishness, really."

Dmitri continued to chatter mildly as they continued down the hall, and Sora quickly decided that the little man talked too much. But the rhythmic tone of Dmitri's voice provided a background—something dependable and solid, so that Sora was almost sad when he was escorted from the palace and entered the fancy hotel alone.

The rooms were so finely designed that Sora wasn't sure he'd ever left the palace. He wandered aimlessly about the rooms laid out for him, staring in awe at the gem-encrusted furniture. It was then that he felt something shift in his clothing—almost like that cold feeling from before—and he stopped short. There was another movement, an unmistakable shift as something grazed his skin. Fear overtook him, but Sora kept his mind intact and did the first thing that entered it.

Screaming and thrashing wildly, Sora ran out of the rooms and ended up in the lobby before he realized that the movement had stopped. "Need a bit of air," he explained to the concerned clerk at the front desk. She kept watching him, though, so he had no choice but to leave the hotel to keep from looking foolish. Well, any more foolish than he already did.

Like the other Enthraille cities, from what Sora understood, Aidran had the traditional domed houses that were made of a material that shimmered slightly, much like water. The Enthraille lifestyle seemed to be centered around water—that and something else Sora couldn't quite grasp. Out in the banner-bedecked streets, traders shouted their prices to the silver-haired shoppers and exchanged exotic fruits for gold coins. Blue-clad children played intricate games that involved swinging pendulums and brightly colored stones, watched in amusement by parents that occasionally seized them with a surprisingly lithe arm or leg to keep them out from under the feet of passers-by.

For what seemed like hours, Sora wandered the streets and gazed at the unfamiliar customs. The sun above didn't beam down too brightly, since the entire city was shielded under a blue-green canopy of extraordinarily tall trees. Sora found himself wrapped in the hum of the trees and the voice of the earth.

When at last he returned to the hotel, since night was falling over the canopy graciously provided by the trees, Sora met a sight he hadn't counted on. "Your Highness?" he exclaimed, seeing the silver-haired boy in his room.

Riku was wrapped up in one of the silken robes and quietly enjoying a drink next to the window. "About time you got back," he said, standing and placing the glass on the table. "I was starting to worry about you."

"But…you…the palace…?" Sora stammered.

"Exactly." Riku rolled his eyes. "The palace. They wouldn't have let me go if they saw me."

Sora frowned. "How'd you get out, then?"

"I—well, uh…" Riku suddenly looked embarrassed. "I concocted an explosion that kept them distracted long enough for me to slip away." But for some reason, he couldn't meet Sora's eyes.

Shaking his head, the brown-haired boy sat down on the bed, still trying to comprehend the enormity of the event. "But…why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be back there doing princely things and stuff?"

"Maybe I'm supposed to, but, quite frankly, they bore me." Riku sat down, his expression sour. "I'd much rather sneak out with you and save your friend. There's not much we can do for her in Serre."

It was Sora's turn to be embarrassed. "Yeah, I know. I listened to you talking with Dmitri."

Riku suddenly looked profoundly impressed. "I think I'm going to like you." He rose, crossing to the bed. "Anyway, it's about time we turned in. The best thing is to head to Middel tomorrow morning to see if we can find out where the wise man has made his residence."

"Middel?" Sora repeated, standing. He remembered that the girl he'd met—Riku had said her name was Kikyo, hadn't he?—had mentioned Middel briefly, but only as a landmark.

"It was originally a human town, but now it has several races involved. Centaurs, Trolls, Dwarves, you know," Riku remarked matter-of-factly as he slid under the coverlet. He glanced at Sora and frowned. "Humans sleep, don't they?"

Sora suddenly found himself blushing furiously. "Well, yeah, but—!"

"Oh, come on. I don't move much unless I have a nightmare."

"It's not that…"

Riku raised an eyebrow slyly. "I'm cuddly, I promise."

This brought Sora's blush to a whole new level. "I'm not sleeping with you!" he said fiercely, crossing his arms over his chest.

The prince shrugged. "Suit yourself. Good night." He blew out the candle and turned over.

For the first few moments Sora stood in the dark numbly, wondering how Riku had managed to slip practically the whole hotel room through his fingers. Muttering sourly, he lit one of the candles near the dresser and began to change out of his island clothing. He hesitated suddenly, feeling eyes on him, and turned to see Riku propped up on his elbow, his eyes glinting softly in the candlelight. "May I help you?" the brown-haired boy asked flatly.

Riku waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mind me. I only kind of wondered what you looked like when I wasn't—" He stopped short. "I wondered if you were fat," he finished quickly.

Eyes narrowing, Sora held up one skinny arm. "Does this look fat to you?" But even as he finished that sentence, it occurred to him that he was half naked and giving Riku a gratuitous view of his chest and legs. Why that bothered him he didn't know, but it did. Blushing again, he busied himself with pulling on one of the robes and shoving his clothes into one of the drawers. "Good night," he said firmly, blowing out the candle.

The silver-haired boy listened with amusement to the solid thud of Sora's face against the wall.

Moving as carefully as possible so as to avoid painful walls and furniture, Sora searched through the rooms for another bed. He failed to find one, though, and curled up on the sofa by the fireplace. But the hotel was unfamiliar—just like the prison cell—and he couldn't find a place where it didn't seem like he was being watched by that unnamed creature. So he found himself wandering back to the other room and taking his watch from his pack and gazing raptly at the second hand.

Seven minutes later, Riku's back rose and fell in the steady breathing of sleep. Sora, clicking off the light on his watch, gingerly slipped under the coverlet on the half of the bed that Riku had graciously left unoccupied. He found an obscure comfort in being so close to another person, having the childish knowledge that nothing would touch him while he was being protected in this way. Although he knew it was a child's fear—the darkness—it seemed strangely as though the danger was there, and it was very real.

l…l

Nanny's gray hair shone in the starlight as she shook her head. "Hard to tell where they've gone," she said to Kairi's father, Lyle. The two worried guardians were relaxing on Nanny's patio after a long, stressful day.

"It's not normal for Kairi to want to run off like that," Lyle said to her in bafflement. "Sora probably convinced her to do it. He's always been a wild one."

"Don't bite your own tongue, Lyle," Nanny told him sharply. "She's the one who built the raft, and I made sure Sora had nothing to do with that." The middle-aged woman knitted absently for a few moments, forming the pattern of a scarf she'd been preparing for Sora for that winter. Gazing out at the stars, Nanny sighed. "He's a boy, so he's like other boys. Headstrong and foolish. No doubt he'll run into trouble the moment his foot touches the sand."

Lyle cast a confused look at her. "What makes you say that?"

A steely glint appeared in Nanny's dark eyes and the click of her knitting became more frequent. "Sora's parents were both murdered. Someone came in the night, and it happened too fast for me to do anything about it. But I've raised every man in his family, so I know boys. If he finds out about that and he finds who did it, Sora's going to rush in there with a wooden sword looking for revenge."

"Every man?" Lyle looked astounded. "But you don't look a day over fifty! How could you—?"

"It's not important," Nanny cut him off. "What's important is that we find your daughter and my godson."

l…l

Dai: Ze plot…it t'ickens!

Serge: Oh, shush. It's not all that complicated anyway…

Dai: …(cries)

Serge: Cut it out!

Review Replies (I've changed these because I got tired of posting whole reviews so these are just replies):

SeekingRedemption: Yeah, I haven't done much on that one yet…they've just barely left Aidran. But then, at least TOS is finished, ne?


	3. Chapter Three

Dai: Feh. The whole thing reads like a first draft, but I guess it's better than _some_ people's attempts. (pointed glance at Serge)

Serge: (sigh) You just will not let that go, will you?

Disclaimer: I own Dmitri, the Continent, and…well…the other OCs. And that's obvious. And I'm getting tired of disclaimers. Meh.

Enthraille: The Orphan's Story

Chapter Three

The sunlight filtered lazily through the window and onto the rumpled sheets as Sora turned over and yawned. Slowly, the recollection of Aidran and Riku returned to him. He groaned and sat up in time to see Riku fiddling with a familiar set of clothing.

"How do you people wear this stuff?" he asked, struggling with the multiple straps and buckles.

Sora mumbled something incoherent, unable to call forth the will necessary to roll onto the floor. It was when Riku nearly strangled himself with a loose strap that Sora mustered the strength to crawl out of the bed and help him. But this was done at the risk of grazing muscled flesh, and Sora did enough of that to make his face a brilliant scarlet. Luckily, Riku couldn't see this due to Sora's position behind him.

"Why are you pulling that over your head?" Sora asked in a flat tone.

"Because I don't see where it goes!" Riku exclaimed, frustrated and trying to find the correct spot for the black strap.

Wordlessly, Sora took the strap, crossed it over Riku's left shoulder, and snapped it to the button just below the right area of his chest. "Duh."

Riku shot him a dark look, which Sora ignored. "So what's next?" the prince asked, spreading his arms.

"Shoes," Sora advised. "I have an extra pair. They're a little big on me, so they should fit you perfect." He scurried to his pack and drew out the blue shoes, pulling back the straps so Riku could slide them on. "And I think you should wear gloves," Sora added, tossing a few pieces of black cloth to the prince. "These should be tough enough to withstand thorns."

Looking dubiously at the black wristbands that went with the gloves, Riku tugged at the short edges. "They're too small," he protested.

"They're supposed to do that."

"Why?"

"Because. That should be enough, so I have to get dressed." Recalling last night, Sora narrowed his eyes and pointed meaningfully toward the door. Riku looked as though he was about to say something, but he thought better of it at Sora's challenging glare and retreated silently.

Once they were prepared and had shopped for nourishment, Riku pointed them to the road that led into the forest. "Why are we going in there?" Sora asked nervously.

"That's the only road that leads to Middel from here," Riku replied. "We'll have to go through Traverser's Swamp, but that's easier than trying to swim around the Continent."

"Traverser's Swamp?"

"It's an old thing," Riku explained wryly. "Middel is sometimes called Traverse Town because almost everyone ends up there at one time or another. Except perhaps Enthrailles. We've always been rather separate."

Sora shivered, staring at the huge, imposing forest. "I thought Aidran would have good boats," he managed.

"Most Enthrailles swim. Besides, looking for a boat would expose me and then you'd have to do this on your own," Riku added, drawing a cloak about himself and offering the other to Sora.

"Aren't you the prince?" the brown-haired boy asked pointedly, struggling to get his hair to cooperate under the cloak.

"Yes, but Dmitri's the Regent. Politically, he has more power than I do." Riku attained that sly look again. "If you're afraid, we can always hold hands."

"You don't have any shame, do you?"

l…l

They actually spent several days out in the forest, camping out at the end of each one. Sora gradually grew used to having Riku beside him—although not physically under the same blanket—whenever night fell. This fantasy world of his grew to be more than he bargained for, since bugs and wild animals became pretty disturbing when they weren't passing over fields or through Enthraille cities.

It happened that one day they seemed to be reaching the border of Serre, and were likely to cross over into Medentine, the country of humans. The forest grew no less large nor imposing as they continued, and Sora became increasingly aware of being watched. An owl hooted nearby, followed by a sharp rustle from somewhere to the left. Shuddering involuntarily, Sora drew unconsciously closer to Riku. He wasn't aware of just how close he was until the prince wrapped one arm around his shoulder and stopped. "Don't move," Riku whispered, stepping away. Sora, his mouth frozen in the act of asking the obvious question, thought better of it and waited.

Riku stooped toward the earth briefly, almost as though he were looking for something. He shot abruptly upward, his hands spread wide. "Fire!" he shouted in a powerful voice.

A harsh scream rang out and the rustle came again, this time darting away. The forest stood still around them, pierced only by a slightly bemused hoot from the owl.

Sora was duly confused. "But nothing happened," he said to Riku. "What were you—?"

"Bluffing," Riku explained laconically, seizing Sora's arm. "This is the part where we run."

The forest parted before them, a hallway filled with leaves and branches and the occasional boulder. Riku navigated it swiftly as though he knew the place, ducking around a tree before Sora completely realized it was there. But the same type of insight gradually fell over the younger boy as well—he seemed to know where a branch was before he saw it, or how high to jump before he knew there was a boulder in the path. The rustle of the leaves and the excited hum of the earth filled his ears as they tore through, but then, quite suddenly, it was over.

Panting, Sora sank to the ground while Riku leaned against a tree to catch his breath. "What was that thing?" the brown-haired boy asked once he could breathe properly again.

Riku shook his head. "I'm not sure. Might've been the spawn of Chaos."

"Might've been what?"

"We'd better hurry," Riku said quickly, looking up at the darkening sky and the swamp before them. "We've crossed the border. Traverser's Swamp occasionally claims a few traversers, and it's significantly harder to navigate at night."

While they walked, Riku went into an explanation. "According to myth, Chaos was the disorder and general chaos that occurred before the creation of the world. From that chaos came the world and an alternate, darker world. The darker world was filled with evil, and our world was not. To create a balance, thereby keeping our world from completely deteriorating, night was created in between the days. It's during night that individuals from the dark world are able to cross the border."

Sora shivered. "But the dark world—doesn't it need a balance, too?"

"Evil feeds on evil," Riku replied, shrugging.

"Then the dark creatures are the spawn of Chaos?"

"Some people call them that. Faeries call them the darkness, and a few of the older nations—like Daguta, the Dwarven country—call them the Heartless."

Riku fell silent then, and it seemed like a long time before they were passing through a small village and night had almost fallen. Sora gazed longingly at the warm-looking houses, drawing the cloak tighter about himself as the chill wind bit through the night. "Just a little farther," Riku murmured to him. The brown-haired boy nodded sleepily, yawning.

They walked for a little while longer, during which Sora very nearly dozed off several times, and Riku paused near a gate. Words were exchanged—it seemed like Riku had hitched them a ride on a wagon—and then the prickly hay poked through his cloak as Riku helped him up onto the wagon bed. The world faded away around him as Sora rested his head against Riku's shoulder and slept.

l…l

A fist hit the wood of the armrest. "Why were you two in the forest so late?" came the demand as the dark-robed figure rose and went to his companions' side.

"Don't pretend like we have a curfew or something," a male voice replied coolly. "And besides, we weren't. We were keeping watch over the Elven village."

"There was a report of two black-cloaked strangers walking through the forest and Traverser's Swamp, and one of them tried to cast a fire spell. Sound familiar?" The first figure glared at the other two under his robe.

"Neither of us are very likely to cast a spell of that nature," the second male stated quietly.

"First of all, who died and made you king? We can go wherever we want unless we have orders from the wise man," the third replied in a sharp female voice. "And second, it's not uncommon to have a few posers trying to scare the villagers. Remember the last one we had to deal with?"

"Vividly," the second remarked, smirking.

The first seemed to have cooled somewhat. "Then we'd better find out who's under those cloaks before they get bigheaded and try to take over our turf. Someone needs to search Middel."

"I'll do it," the third volunteered. "You two would probably go in shouting and hacking left and right."

The first grunted vaguely but the second stared at her, sarcastically appalled. "Fine," the first said finally. "Just don't get noticed until you find them."

"Like you have a right to talk."

l…l

Sora came to in the warm hotel bed that he never, ever wanted to leave. This turned into a clash of two different wills when he had to go to the bathroom, so he grudgingly left the comforting warmth for the sake of necessity.

Since there was nothing else to do with the possible exception of lie in bed—and he couldn't go back to sleep at all now—he dressed and descended to the lobby. There was no sign of the Enthraille prince, so Sora wandered out into Middel's streets.

The stars glinted above him as he strode along the stone walk, treeless except for the occasional sapling. It surprised him to see the stars—according to his watch, it was ten in the morning. Maybe the stupid thing was busted.

As he turned to go back to the hotel, hoping Riku would actually be in the general vicinity, he caught sight of a cloaked figure standing in the alleyway. "Riku?" he called, reassured when the figure looked up out of piercing green eyes. "Riku! Where've you—?" He stopped short when the figure pointed at him and a lightning bolt glanced off the stone next to him.

"Don't move," a female voice said sharply as the figure approached. "I hate it when they run. It's much more of a mess afterwards."

Sora took a few steps back, halting abruptly as he felt his limbs tighten and stick out sharply, the hairs rising on his skin. "Wh-wha—?"

"Interesting, isn't it, Ludra?" the stranger remarked, a hint of amusement in her tone. "Your body is completely governed by electrical signals coming from your brain and down your spine." Her fist clenched and a slight pain ran up his spine. "So you'd better start talking, kid, or I'm gonna twist a few things you'd rather I didn't."

"What do you want?" Sora managed in what would have been a strong voice if it hadn't been so tremulous.

"You recognized me, didn't you?" she asked. "My cloak, at least. So tell me. Who was traveling through the forest in those cloaks?"

"I-I don't know."

"Strike one. Of course you know, or you wouldn't have come after me. Come on, Ludra, I don't want to have to hurt you." She smirked. "Much."

Sora tried to change the subject. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"I think you know why. Now talk." The stranger made another motion and a shudder passed through Sora's body.

"One was—um—one was an Elf," Sora managed to say as he recalled the races that Riku had mentioned on the road to Middel, feeling pain rippling up his spine, "and the other was—was—a Dwarf."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Ye—es!" the brown-haired boy replied, ending in a yelp of pain as his arm began to twist.

"Hm. Interesting how a Dwarf would travel with an Elf even though their races haven't mixed since the Elven-Centaur War five hundred years ago. It's also interesting that neither of the cloaked travelers were the right build of an Elf, but they were too tall for either of them to be a Dwarf." There was a crackle of electricity. "That's strike two, Ludra. I have a feeling your cloaked friends aren't going to be too happy when they find pieces of you in five hundred different places."

Sora whimpered, closing his eyes and trying not to imagine what she might do to him.

There was a whistle from behind the stranger, and a cloaked figure waved mockingly at her. With a muttered curse, she released Sora and darted toward the newcomer, lightning flashing about her. Sora sat up, realizing that the new stranger could only be Riku. He stared in horror as Riku suddenly collapsed into an indiscernible pile on the ground, no doubt due to the stranger's harnessing of his spine. "Riku!" he shouted in disbelief.

The stranger was staring down at the crumpled form, toeing it in apparent confusion. She bent briefly and stood with something sparkling in her grasp, her lips widening in a smirk. There was a flash of lightning and she vanished.

Sora's body was riddled with pain, but he forced himself to his feet and ran toward Riku. "Can't be dead," he panted as he ran. First his parents—then Kairi—now this— "He can't be dead!"

Collapsing onto the ground, Sora reached in a search for Riku's hand or foot or something. For Riku to be taking up only that much space, the stranger must have collapsed his entire body. Although he was afraid of what he might find, Sora fumbled through the pile, feeling tears well up in his eyes. But there were only…

"Clothes?" he wondered aloud, lifting the cloak from the ground. It was empty, even lacking the outfit Sora had brought from the island.

"Sora!" Riku shouted from behind him. Sora turned and stared at the impossible image of Riku running toward him. But he was hopping—he looked almost as if he was still pulling on a shoe. Sora took little notice of this, gaping insensibly at the ghost he was seeing.

The Enthraille reached him, hesitating. "I saw the whole thing from the window," he explained shortly. "Did she break anything?"

"I—n-no, I don't think so," Sora told him, hissing in pain as he checked.

"Damn her," Riku muttered. "Come on. I'll try not to hurt you," he said, bending and taking Sora in his arms before he started for the clinic.

l…l

"Owwwww…" Sora moaned, grimacing. He looked up at the hospital ceiling, unable to keep from thinking about the constant pain. "I hurt all over."

"I know," Riku replied, squeezing out a wet cloth and placing it over Sora's forehead. "You're lucky. She's been known to snap people's spines in two at the drop of a hat."

"Who was she?" Sora managed weakly, shifting in an attempt to relieve a few of the most sensitive areas.

"A Spirit," Riku told him, taking a seat on the stool beside the hospital bed. "They command the elements, and they're very dangerous. I'm not sure why she was after you." He bit his lip, frowning. "Well, it may have been because of the cloaks. The Spirits don't take lightly to people pretending to be them."

"Is that what we were doing?" Sora asked. "In the forest—you tried to cast a spell…"

"I was trying to scare off whatever that was," Riku explained. "People recognize Spirits for their power. If I put on a cloak and waved my hand, I'd have about a hundred people on their knees begging for forgiveness."

"For what?"

"Breathing." Riku shifted the rag and continued to apply more of them to Sora's body. "I'm not entirely sure how many Spirits there actually are, but I know there was one more a little while ago. They ganged up and killed him for some reason—I think he was trying to play king. Not that it matters."

The brown-haired boy shot him a curious look. Riku sighed and continued.

"The Spirits obey whoever has their respective Scroll. The Scrolls were originally scattered about the Continent, but they were put in a highly guarded section of the Enthraille library until just a few years ago." Riku paused, looking at the ground. "Someone broke into the library and released the Spirits from the Scrolls. He was banished, but he took them with him."

Sora blinked, getting the unnerving feeling that Riku was leaving something out. "Who did it, then?"

Riku shrugged, quickly returning to the task of soothing Sora's abused limbs. "I was only five years old. I don't really remember what happened."

It dawned on Sora that it would probably be better not to pursue the matter. "She kept calling me something weird," he remarked after a while. "Luther or something. Lutra—Ludra, that was it."

The Enthraille looked up, frowning. "Ludra? I don't know. For some reason that sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it before."

Riku started to say something else, but just then they heard voices. There was a sound like a duck exploding, and then the door slammed open against the wall. An infuriated duck-man-creature burst into the room, waving a staff wildly and very nearly incinerating an important part of Riku's anatomy.

"What's that?" Sora asked, panicking and remembering just in time not to upset the cloths under penalty of the resulting pain.

The Enthraille shushed him quickly, putting out a hand to calm the duck. "He's a Huminal," he explained in a whisper. "They're part human and part animal. We're not sure where they came from, but they're cuddly and fun and a pain in the ass when they're mad."

It was fortunate that the duck didn't happen to hear this, being too occupied with an argument between himself and his canine companion.

"Can I help you?" Riku asked, pointedly cheerful as he approached the two.

"Royal investigation. We're here to see the patient who was attacked by the Spirit," the duck explained in an obscure accent. "It's just that this idiot," he added, indicating the dog man, "doesn't think we should help."

"Oh c'mon, Donald, I didn't say—!"

This was drowned out with a series of furious quacks. Once his companion was sufficiently silent, Donald cleared his throat importantly. "I'm the king's mage in Disney, and I've been practicing since I was a duckling. I'm almost as good as the Spirits now."

"Yeah, if you wanna expectorate," the dog man murmured, laughing quietly.

With a duck-like growl, Donald clubbed him with the staff. "That's 'exaggerate,' Goofy, and it's not true anyway!"

"But if you're the king's mage, what are you doing way out here?" Riku asked. "Disney is miles away by land or sea."

"I could ask the same of you, Prince Riku," Donald addressed him flatly. "The king sent for us to answer the summons to Aidran on the subject of a comatose girl. But before then, we were trying to find out what the Spirits are doing. They've been watching villages in Elven territory and occasionally attacking the Centaurs. Luana and Kianus are right nearby one another, and close to the heart of the Continent. If the Spirits get those under their rule, they could very well stage attacks on major human, Faerie, and Huminal cities. Not to mention the Enthraille throne," he added pointedly. "You know very well that your—"

Riku's fingers clamped Donald's beak shut firmly. "That's enough," he said sharply, his aquamarine eyes fierce. "Just do what you have to. We have other Spirits to track down."

"Is that your excuse?" the mage demanded when he could speak again. "All of Serre is in uproar looking for you. Are you just looking for a few kicks? Because if you think I'm going to stand by while you get yourself killed, you'd better—"

"People are dying, Donald," Riku interrupted. "There's a girl in Aidran right now who's fighting for her life. It can't go on like this. If anyone can put a stop to it, I can." He turned away. "And…I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my father where I am." The door shut firmly behind him.

Donald sighed brokenly. "Going to kill himself, idiot boy," he muttered. "Probably going to take the whole Continent with him—"

It was at this point that the two Huminals recalled the existence of a certain pain-filled boy who was beginning to wish Riku had put another cloth on his arm before leaving. "Hold still," Donald said to Sora, crossing to the side of the bed. Sora's eyes widened at the sight of the staff, and he would have struggled just then had Donald not finished the spell, causing a cool, soothing sensation to pass through his body.

"Did it work?" Goofy asked, bending into Sora's line of vision.

This earned the canine another blow from the staff. "Of course it worked! Since when does a cure spell not work?"

While the two commenced to bickering, Sora pulled off the rags and left the room. He found Riku standing in the corridor, eyes distant as he leaned against the wall. "Feel better?" the prince asked, looking up sharply.

Not knowing quite what to say, Sora nodded.

"Good. Come on—we'd better head for Niro." Riku beckoned and started out of the clinic in the general direction of the hotel.

Dai: Well, reviews are still appreciated. Don't feel rushed, there are plenty of chapters left, and I'm sure to stretch out the wait times depending on the number of reviews or lack thereof. (evil leer)


	4. Chapter Four

Dai: It's been awhile since I updated. But I guess it doesn't matter, really.

Serge: You're being awfully bitter today.

Dai: I know. I'm sorry. Anyway—story time. Ugh. Did that sound as corny as it felt?

Serge: Yeah.

Dai: Figures.

Disclaimer: Um, yeh.

l…l

Enthraille: The Orphan's Story

Chapter Four

There was a crackle of electricity by the far end of the room. "Ansem?"

A shrouded figure looked up from the books strewn over his desk, ancient pages open to mystical diagrams and writings. "Larxene," he greeted the blonde Spirit who approached him. "What are you here for now? I haven't laid out any orders just yet."

"We found out that a few counterfeit Spirits were wandering through the woods near Aidran just the other day," she explained. "I went to Middel to search for them and ran into an interesting little boy who seemed to recognize my cloak. He wouldn't talk straight, but in the end I found someone I think you're going to be very interested in." She tossed something that sounded thinly metallic against the desk.

Ansem inspected the pendant curiously. "The Enthraille coat of arms," he remarked, turning it over so that it glinted silver-blue in the dim light. His lips curved in an amused smile. "Looks like the prince has left his castle at last. Where on earth could he be going?"

"From the look of it, he's gathering information," Larxene surmised. "Princes don't usually end up in Traverse Town just for the hell of it."

Nodding, Ansem slipped the royal pendant into a drawer. "If that's the case, he's more than likely going to cross the sea, either to Kianus for the Centaur manuscripts or Kushinda to seek counsel with the Faeries. Be a dear and let Zexion know, won't you?"

Smirking, Larxene bowed and vanished in a soft electric sizzle.

l…l

"Spies?" Sora interrupted as he and Riku prepared for departure.

"We all use them," Riku replied matter-of-factly. "Daguta, Kushinda, Luana—and especially Serre. Enthrailles aren't particularly trusting. Besides, we need to keep tabs in order to prevent tyranny, bigheaded politicians, bastards on the throne, you know, that sort of thing." He glanced briefly at their cloaks, then discarded them in favor of dark brown shrouds.

"What did he say?"

"He didn't know much, but he knows the address of a certain wizard in Niro." Riku paused at Sora's glance, shaking his head. "The one who holds the Scrolls is an Enthraille," he explained. "We typically refer to him as the wise man. Besides, this wizard is an old friend of my family's." He picked up his bag, shoving in a tunic he'd bought when he collected supplies for them. "Niro is a Troll town—a little rough around the edges, but not a bad place for a wizard to be at hand."

Sora nodded, and they started downstairs. Riku paid the clerk, stopping briefly to ask directions, and grimaced at the news that it was a five-day walk to Niro. "Is there a stable nearby?"

"Yes, sir. It's still about two days on horseback unless you want to kill the poor thing," she told him serviceably. "But the stable is down the street to your right, next to the bar." She halted abruptly, seeing the glint of silver under Riku's shroud. "Sir, you wouldn't happen to be an Enthraille, would you?"

Riku shot her a level look. "And if I was?"

"I advise that you stay out of Luana. Nasty murders have been cropping up, and all the victims have had hair with a silver sheen, if you catch my drift," the clerk warned him.

A flash darted across Riku's eye. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Wait a minute," Sora said as they left the hotel. "Luana? Where's that? You're confusing me with all these places!"

"It's quite simple, actually," Riku told him. "The Enthrailles are in Serre, the Huminals are in Disney, the Elves share Luana with the Pixies, the Faeries are in Kushinda, the Centaurs are in Kianus, the Dwarves are in Daguta, the humans are in Medentine, and the Trolls are everywhere."

Sora grabbed his head to keep it from spinning. "Disana—Lushinus—? That doesn't help me!"

But since Riku didn't reply, he hurried to catch up and left the subject alone.

l…l

"It's funny because Centaurs don't understand geography," Riku was explaining later, having just pulled off what was supposed to be a humorous joke.

Sora had collapsed against the neck of his horse, his head throbbing in the attempt to process this along with all the other tidbits. "Could we talk about something generic?" he moaned, his voice muffled by the horse's mane.

"Like the Dwarven stock market?" Riku offered, cracking up even as he spoke. "It was a disaster. No one could conduct business for ten years, and they had to rely on the Elves, so you can imagine—"

There was a weak groan from Sora's motionless form.

Riku finally relented, smirking. While Sora was fun to torture, it was getting late. He reared in his horse, looking up at the sky as the first few stars twinkled hesitantly in the wake of the vanishing sun. "We should probably turn in."

As Sora regarded the darkening sky, he remembered something. "Riku, back in Traverse Town—why was it so dark all day?"

"Because Middel is the town where nobody knows what time it is," Riku replied, dismounting and pulling out their supplies. "The entire town is stuck in eternal night. That's why they have so many hotels."

Sora frowned. "How's that possible?"

"Well, about a thousand years ago, this witch—"

"Never mind!"

Laughing, Riku turned to look up at the sky just as the full moon rose above them. He looked at it, a silver disc suspended in the world of darkness around it, with a subtle hint of yearning. "Firewood," he said suddenly. "Sora, we need firewood. I'll set up—you go get some, okay?"

The brown-haired boy, having dismounted and set out a few things, looked up at him plaintively. But for some reason he knew it would be better if he didn't argue, so he muttered his acquiescence and wandered off in the general direction of the moon.

Muttering incoherently to himself, Sora picked his way through the trees, seizing up the logs that weren't dirt-covered or damp. He halted abruptly as he heard a rustle nearby, recalling vividly his conversation with Riku about the Heartless. "Riku?" he called out faintly. "Riku, is that you?"

But there was no response, and Sora had the feeling that the darkness was watching him again. The darkness transformed harmless trees and bushes into sinister phantoms in dark cloaks, and Sora could almost hear a faint rasping that seemed to come from the earth itself. "Riku?" he called again, swallowing hard.

By now he'd almost lost his composure, so Sora decided that was enough firewood for the time being. He wandered through the trees, trying to remember the way back to where Riku was making camp. His ears pricked hopefully, trying to pick up a horse's nicker or the rustle of preparations.

The trees opened out onto a cliff, at the top of which stood a prominent boulder. Sora squinted, seeing something curled up on the large rock. He stepped closer carefully, and finally picked up the image of a white cobra with its hood spread out, silhouetted by the glimmering moon. Picking up the vibrations from the boy's steps, the cobra turned luminous eyes on him and froze. For a moment neither of them moved, unblinking green eyes locked with increasingly terrified blue. Then Sora screamed.

Firewood crashing to the ground, the brown-haired boy ran wildly through the forest, feeling the twigs whipping against his face as he broke through them. "Riku!" was his repeated shout, his voice shrilling with terror. The ground passed swiftly under his feet, stopping only when he tripped and landed against something that felt suspiciously like a horse's rump.

A frightened neigh rang out and Sora poised to run again, but he suddenly found himself locked in Riku's embrace. "Sora, what happened?" Riku asked him, relaxing once he was certain the younger boy wouldn't go tearing into the forest again.

"The firewood—darkness—Heartless—and then a sn-snake, and—Riku, why don't you have a shirt on?" Sora asked suddenly, realizing just then exactly what kind of flesh he was pressed up against.

"You caught me at a bad time," Riku explained with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. "I was about to take a bath."

Sora leapt away from him with a shriek.

"I've got pants on! Good grief, Sora." Riku turned away to hide the sudden flush that threatened to crawl up his face.

There was an awkward pause. "So…you don't like snakes," Riku said finally, a strange emotion in his voice.

"They kinda scare me," Sora admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "It wouldn't be so bad if it were daytime. And a cobra—those things are poisonous…" He shivered, trying to keep from imagining what might have happened if he'd been attacked.

Riku nodded, his eyes distant. "You're all right now, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I'll go back and get the firewood."

"Okay."

It was only after Riku had disappeared into the forest that Sora thought it was odd that the prince had known he dropped the firewood. But this fact soon left his mind when Riku returned and cooked a large fish, which made for a satisfying meal until a bear attacked, scaring Sora into dragging them both into hiding. They only returned when Riku realized the bear was stealing the fish, and this came too late to save it. The horses regarded this unenthusiastically, exchanging glances as if to say, "I always get the idiots."

Riku fed the horses while Sora changed, and then turned to regard the cold river water. It would be a chilling experience to try to bathe now. "I'll do it tomorrow," he told the slightly suspicious Sora. The brown-haired boy yawned and, forgetting his suspicion, curled up in the tent they'd pitched before eating. Riku slid in beside him, unwittingly making the younger boy vastly more at ease.

l…l

Destira flitted before his eyes as he walked toward it, his feet suspended in the air above the water. He paused, thinking this odd, and looked down for a moment. But there was nothing particularly odd about floating a foot above the water, so he continued walking and suddenly pitched down—

Sora's eyes popped open as he was jarred awake by the faint dream. He'd been slipping in and out of awareness for the past few hours, and the falling dreams were getting to be very frustrating. But this fact became insignificant in the scheme of things when he realized something a moment later.

Sometime during the night, Riku had ended up spooning the younger boy, his arm draped over Sora's waist. Sora waited, frozen, and tried to imagine a way to move Riku without waking him. If he did wake up, Sora would be caught in a position that he didn't want to be in, and that…that would just be a lot of unnecessary embarrassment. He was just considering going back to sleep and worrying about it in the morning when he heard Riku murmur something incoherent that sounded oddly like Sora's name.

"What?" he asked, turning slightly. But Riku was obviously still asleep, so the brown-haired boy turned back, trying not to imagine what Riku was dreaming.

The sound was repeated. "Ludra…" Riku mumbled. He jerked suddenly, pulling away from Sora. "The baby…stay away…from…"

"Riku?" Sora turned over completely, watching the silver brows furrow as Riku jerked again, his body spasming. His arm shot out suddenly, his fist grazing Sora's temple, and he suddenly began to thrash violently. "Riku!" Sora repeated, holding up his arms to ward off any other blows in his direction.

"Get…hands off…my son…!" Riku managed in a louder voice, his movements taking on new purpose in a specific area to his left.

"Riku! Stop it! Wake up!" Sora shouted, trying to seize Riku's arms. This failed, so he dove past the blows and locked his arms around Riku's torso, still yelling in the vain attempt to be heard.

The thrashing stopped after a few moments and Riku relaxed, his arms falling back harmlessly. "Nnnngghhh…" he groaned, his eyes opening once and then closing again.

Even though he seemed to have gone back to normal, Sora didn't let go of the Enthraille. It was his intention to—he had several dilemmas involved with being so close to Riku—but he nodded off to sleep before he did so, a peaceful half-smile on his face.

Early the next morning, Riku woke up and wondered why Sora's arms were locked around his chest in a death grip.

l…l

"Riku, I swear, if you don't shut up…!" Sora told him venomously that afternoon as they rode toward Niro. The younger boy's cheeks were still flaming, and Riku intended to keep them that way.

"Oh? Just what'll you do if I don't shut up?"

"I'll whack you with a stick."

"What kind?"

Sora let out a scream of fury and, seizing a branch from a nearby tree, used it to pummel the silver-haired boy into submission. In the middle of this, the horses spontaneously decided to punish their idiot riders and performed calculated maneuvers that ended with Riku rolling into a cave and Sora suspended from a tree. This done, they glanced at each other with expressions that seemed to say, "Mission Accomplished," and rode off in the general direction of Middel.

"When I get ahold of you I'm going to—!" But the horses didn't hear what Sora was going to do to them because the branch dipped jarringly and he gasped in terror. He looked on in defeat as the horses disappeared into the surrounding shrubbery. "Riku?"

There was a dull thud. "Ugh."

Sora swiveled uncomfortably and watched as Riku emerged, rubbing his forehead and grimacing. "Riku, the horses—guahh!" he yelled abruptly as the branch dipped and he plummeted.

"I got you!" Riku called up to him, running forward and holding out his arms. The prince was for some reason imagining a very romantic scene in which he caught the younger boy flawlessly, thus ensuring his undying devotion for the next eternity.

However, Sora broke through that little reverie when he sat up and spat out leaves and dirt. "Thanks a bunch, Riku."

Riku rubbed the back of his head, groaning. "Not my fault you can't aim where you fall."

It was at this point that Sora—who had, oddly enough, also been fantasizing about what might happen if Riku caught him—recalled that the prince had been acting in a way that he found odd. While he'd been too focused on deterring it earlier, now it occurred to him that he could very well be in the presence of someone romantically interested. "I've been noticing something kinda weird," he began awkwardly, standing. "Riku, are you, um, interested in…guys…?"

"What?" Riku blinked. "Ah—no, no way!" he said suddenly, forcing a laugh. "I can tell a homophobe at fifty yards, and homophobes are fun."

"I'm not a homophobe!"

"You're not?" Riku asked, placing a finger under Sora's chin and tilting his face upward.

Sora pulled away, trying unsuccessfully to ignore Riku's laughter. "Cut it out!"

"I'm all set up, anyway," Riku replied then. "Dmitri's arranged for me to marry a Faerie, once she becomes a noblewoman. Her name's Namine."

"Oh," Sora said in a slightly thick voice. A sudden feeling of disappointment settled over him, but he couldn't imagine why. He was most definitely not attracted to Riku—not one little bit.

"Anyway, we'd better start off for Niro, horses or no hors—" Riku stopped short as a blade whizzed by him and stuck in the tree trunk behind him, a silver strand clinging to it. "And someone's trying to kill me."

"Get behind me!" Sora shouted, whipping out his wooden sword.

Riku raised an eyebrow and looked about to say something.

"Do you have a better idea?" the younger boy cut him off sharply. Riku apparently didn't, because he complied. Emboldened by his new authority, Sora glared into the brush. "Come out and face me, you coward!"

There was a rustle nearby him. "I'm afraid cowardice and camouflage are two entirely different concepts, boy," came a girl's voice. Sora reacted just in time and a blade quivered on the wood, having nearly hit him in the face. He trembled at the thought of what might have happened to him, and began to have second thoughts. "Riku, I think now would be a good time to run for it." Silence. "Riku?" Sora repeated, turning abruptly to face the empty brush behind him. "He's already gone and left me!" he exclaimed angrily. "Why that son of a—!"

This commentary ended in a sudden cry of pain as one of the blades bit through the flesh of his upper arm. Sora stumbled back against the tree, biting his lip against the pain. Blood squeezed between his fingers and he felt a sudden cold sensation along his arm. Realizing that the knife might be poisoned, he seized the handle and pulled.

A dark-haired girl emerged from the forest even as Sora winced sharply and the metal landed solidly on the ground. "I might not be able to get your friend yet, boy, but I can certainly slow him down by killing you," she said then, raising a katana.

There was a sharp sound behind her, almost like a hiss, and she turned abruptly with a shout. This became a scream in the next minute when she ran toward the trees and collapsed, convulsing uncontrollably.

"Sora!" Riku called, rushing toward him. His shirt was missing again, but Sora stopped paying attention when he grabbed the katana and slashed at the ground where the girl had been standing. "Sora, is it bad?" he asked, kneeling beside the wounded boy.

"Not very," Sora managed through gritted teeth. "I don't think she hit anything vital."

"Damn her," Riku muttered, spitting to the side. "…awful, too," he added in a voice almost too low for Sora to hear.

"What happened to her?"

"It was a white cobra," Riku explained, tying one of his cloths around Sora's arm.

The younger boy reacted violently.

"No, I chased it off. It got her, though. The venom isn't poisonous most of the time, but it's very painful. She'll wake up in a few hours."

Sora examined the bandage critically. "Are you going to, uh…?" he added, gesturing to the girl and drawing a finger across his neck.

"Not yet," Riku told him, even though his eyes were murderous. Sora breathed a sigh of relief. "I want to know who she's working for and why she attacked us. If she's a threat, we'll have to get rid of her somehow."

The brown-haired boy looked understandably nervous.

l…l

Bound and gagged, the girl awoke later that afternoon when Riku had put Sora to bed in the tent, having decided they couldn't go any farther that day. In addition, Riku didn't want the younger boy around if anything messy had to happen, so he and the girl were far removed from the campsite.

He pulled away the gag. "Who were you meant to attack?" he demanded of the dark-haired girl, pointing the katana at her.

"I don't have to tell you anything! If you're found with blood on your hands, you—"

"Look behind you." Riku gestured to the water below the boulder upon which they were precariously perched. "Hear the rushing sound not too far away? That's a waterfall. If anything's left of your body after that, no one will be able to find much evidence on it. So I suggest you start talking."

The girl's brown eyes narrowed, but she sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'm Yuffie. I'm with the CEE."

The Coalition for Enthraille Extermination, Riku thought to himself. "That explains it. The prejudiced group of merciless killers."

"We're not merciless!" Yuffie replied sharply. "We go after the rogues like you. The ones who put innocent people's lives on the line."

"Look, I'm doing the best I can to save the victims right now," Riku told her in a dark voice. "If you wouldn't mind not bothering me, I think we'd all be much happier in the long run."

"Enthrailles are dangerous," Yuffie added. "You of all people should know that, being one yourself. You ought to know what's going on."

"Enlighten me."

"Riku?" came Sora's voice sleepily from behind them. His blue eyes widened as he caught sight of the katana in Riku's hand. "Riku, you're not going to kill her, are you?"

There was a hesitation as Riku looked from Sora to Yuffie, and back to Sora. "No." He turned to Yuffie, slicing through the ropes with the katana and tossing the weapon at her feet. "Get out of here, and tell the CEE not to get involved or I'm going to be very angry with them."

Yuffie stood, glaring at him. "You Enthrailles are creatures of evil," she told him, seizing the katana. "It would be better if you just didn't exist!" she shouted, rushing at him.

Riku seized her by the wrists, expertly bending the blade away from him. "Fine then. As Enthrailles, we know how to swim. You better hope you do too." Yuffie's heels scraped along the rock briefly, but then she disappeared into the turbulent waters.

"Riku!" Sora shouted, running forward. "But—she—!"

"She'll probably be fine," Riku stated darkly. "Enthrailles swim exceedingly well, so the CEE members have to be able to swim if they're going to catch their prey. She'll be back soon enough, if she's not as bright as the rest." He sighed, glancing back at the other boy with a sad smile on his face. "The Enthrailles have reasons not to be trustful of others, and she's one of them. Come on." He started back toward the campsite.

"But—what was she talking about? Creatures of evil?"

Riku shook his head. "She just doesn't like me."

Sora had the distinct impression that Riku was withholding something, but it was obviously a subject that the prince didn't want to broach. He obediently followed the prince to the tent.

l…l

Riku's eyes glinted softly in the moonlight as he stood watch. Sora was busily sleeping, unaware that the older boy had ever left his side, but Riku was far too worried about an unwanted visitor to sleep. He heard a rustle beside him and noted the coral snake slithering nearby. For a few moments he moved his fingers along the ground to create the subtle vibrations that would indicate his presence, and the snake changed its course to a place away from the tent.

There was a louder rustle that could come from no snake. Riku waited carefully until he was certain of an exact location and lashed out, seizing the right arm of his assailant. He pulled her to him and trapped her arms. "You again?" he said to Yuffie in a disgusted voice.

"Yes, me again," she replied over her shoulder in a tone no less disdainful. "The CEE sent me back because I've got the wrong guy. You're not the one the wise man is dealing with."

"Oh, good," Riku replied sarcastically. "I could've told you that."

"I wouldn't have believed you."

"So are you here to apologize?"

"No. I'm here to tell you that you've got a friend in mortal danger." Yuffie jiggled the jewel-like glass in her hand. "There was poison in the knives I threw at you, and it kills in four days. So you might want to take this antidote to that kid before anything nasty happens."

"Poison?" Riku's blood ran cold, and he tightened his grip on her. Now that he thought of it, Sora had been acting oddly exhausted and listless earlier. He had attributed it to the wound in Sora's arm, but he hadn't lost a lot of blood and it was odd for him to be acting so lifeless. "If you've poisoned him once, why should I trust you with this?"

"If you don't, he'll die. That's a promise."

"I'm surprised the CEE isn't letting you go for bungling this."

"We don't care how many Enthrailles die as a result of our operations. We're better off with none of you."

"So you've said. But he isn't an Enthraille—he's a human. All I have to do is get word to the king of Disney and CEE is finished. You know how Disney feels about other casualties." Riku reached for the antidote, only to have Yuffie move it out of his reach.

"If you're going to tell King Mickey, you might as well let the death take its course," she stated flatly.

"Give it to me and I won't breathe a word."

"I can't trust you."

"Welcome to my world." Riku shoved her away and held out a hand. "There. Now I'm unarmed. Give it here."

Yuffie smirked. "Take it." She threw down the glass so that it shattered against the ground. "Whoops, how silly of me. Either way, it's all yours, so don't go tattling to the king, Enthraille." With that, she was gone, darting amongst the trees.

"Damn her," Riku muttered, rushing to where she'd dropped the antidote. He bent briefly and swept a drop onto his finger to taste. "From the Ruatsu flower, north of Disney," he murmured. "Ironic."

l…l

Sora wandered aimlessly through the woods, his eyes dull and his motions strangely lifeless. He wondered vaguely why this was so, why did he feel so weak—and where was Riku? Had he gone to get firewood? Or no, he'd gone to find the wise man. Or perhaps he'd gone to Destira to see Nanny about something. Yes, that was it.

Like a plastic world, the features of the forest were sharply defined but childishly constructed. The brown-haired boy continued through until he reached the beach where Kairi danced playfully around a crab, neither harming it nor being harmed. "Thalassa shells," she seemed to be saying as she dangled the necklace above the crab's reaching claws. Riku was beside her, laughing, and oddly seeming to fit right into the world of Dest…of Destina…of…?

"Come on, Sora," he called. "Get over here. We still have a match to finish, you know."

Sora had the unmistakable feeling that something wasn't right—almost as if he had stepped into a world where he did not belong, where different circumstances were at play. Nonetheless, he ran toward the two of them as a source of familiarity—but then the darkness was there again, that pulsing being now spherical like some blackened sun in the sky. Kairi vanished with a scream and Riku…the darkness…

"Ow!" Sora shouted suddenly, opening his eyes to the sun-splashed tent. He sat up, glancing down at his arm where a bandage was tied around his wrist. "Ow, ow, ow," he murmured, grimacing at the strangely magnified pain.

"You okay?" Riku asked, opening the flap to look in.

"Yeah," Sora told him, pressing against his wrist to stop the pain. "Ow. What happened?"

"That girl came back," Riku explained. "Apparently she got the wrong guy, so she gave me an antidote to stop the poison in you."

Sora nodded vaguely, remembering the sense of cold in his arm. "Riku, I had this dream—I don't know, it seemed so…odd."

Riku smirked. "You think _you've_ got nightmares," he murmured softly. "Did anyone die?"

"Well, no—yeah—kinda…" Sora trailed off, trying to verbalize the sense of loss he'd felt when that terrible thing happened to Riku.

"You're not making any sense." Riku stood, letting the flap fall back. "Get dressed. We're going to Niro today, since Dumb and Dumber finally decided to get hungry and trot back."

Outside, one of the horses shot Riku a hateful look as if to say, "At least I'm not the one responsible for the food shortage."

"But Riku!" Sora called after him, even though Riku was already out of earshot. He sighed, feeling oddly helpless and that some larger situation was about to spin wildly out of control.

l…l

Dai: Bwahaha! The dreams! I almost forgot about those.

Serge: You haven't read this since, what, September? You don't remember _anything_.

Dai: Point for you, but I still remember a few things.

Serge: Like what?

Dai: …um…

Serge: Wow, today is blah.

Dai: Yeah really.


End file.
